From back cover (original edition):
Robert Christgau has adapted his notorious Village Voice column
to produce the essential guide to recent rock and roll. It is the first
book devoted to the years that brought us disco, punk, and new wave;
that established Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Bob
Marley, and Deborah Harry as superstars; and that confirmed the
brilliance of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, and the Rolling
Stones.

The man who has listened to more rock and roll than anyone else in the
country offers a unique reference book, as energetic and rebellious
as the music he has the nerve to grade--funny and personal, but always
searching for musical, literary, and political standards in an
amorphous and hype-ridden business.